'Hickory BBQ Pulled Pork' is not the name of a seasoning mix, a sauce or a meat product, but a popcorn flavor offered by Butterkist. The spread of foodie culture and experimental flavoring has inspired tons of food crossovers in recent months, particularly within the snack category. This sweet and smoky popcorn snack provides a satisfying alternative to buttery popcorn snacks that offer little more than one note of flavor.
As well as being noteworthy for its unique meat-inspired flavor, the Butterkist snack is a healthful source of fiber that's made with wholegrains and without artificial colors or flavors.
Some of the other unexpected flavors in the 'Discoveries' popcorn snack range from Butterkist include Salted Caramel and Sweet Chilli & Zesty Lime.
Meat-Flavored Popcorn
This Butterkist Popcorn Flavor Reminds of 'Hickory BBQ Pulled Pork'
Trend Themes
1. Meat-inspired Snacks - The rise of meat-flavored snacks presents opportunities for disruptive innovation in the snack industry by catering to consumers who crave new and unique flavors.
2. Health-focused Snacking - Butterkist's utilization of whole grains and lack of artificial colors/flavors promotes a healthful snacking alternative, making way for more innovation in healthy snacking trends.
3. Experimental Flavor Crossovers - The emergence of experimental flavors, such as 'Hickory BBQ Pulled Pork' and 'Salted Caramel', indicates opportunities for further innovation in unique flavor pairings across a variety of food and beverage categories.
Industry Implications
1. Snack - The snack industry can seize the opportunity to innovate and create unique meat-inspired flavors, such as popcorn, to cater to consumers who crave unique snacks.
2. Food and Beverage - The food and beverage industry can explore new and unique flavors by experimenting with unexpected flavor pairings like Butterkist's 'Discoveries' snack range.
3. Health and Wellness - The trend towards incorporating healthy, whole ingredients, like whole grains, in snacks highlights possibilities for innovation within the health and wellness industry.